Streaming Services Like Spotify Lift Music Revenues in Sweden

The music industry’s revenues in Sweden are back to the highest level since 2004, fueled by the growing popularity of streaming services like Spotify.

Spotify’s desktop app.

Spotify

Overall music-sales growth in Sweden was 5% last year, according to data from the Swedish Recording Industry Association that was published Monday. The industry group attributed the rise to increasing revenue from digital music in general, but singled out streaming services specifically.

Spotify is one of several services that let people pay a monthly fee, usually in the range of $10, to gain access to millions of songs. Others include Rdio, Google Music and the new Beats Music. Services like Pandora and iTunes Radio let people stream music more like a personalized radio station.

Digital sales helped Sweden’s music industry pick up in 2009 after a long period of decline, much like the rest of the world. Last year, 76% of music sales there were digital, up from 60% in 2012. But unlike in many other nations, more than 90% of digital sales in Sweden come from streaming services rather than downloads of individual tracks on platforms like Apple 's iTunes. Norway, Denmark and France also have seen strong adoption of streaming services.

The sales growth in Sweden come as many parts of the world continue to see shrinking sales, both digital and physical. In the U.S., where iTunes remains the largest digital service, sales of tracks fell by 6% last year — the first decline since 2001 — while sales of physical albums fell 13%, according to Nielsen Entertainment.

Sweden, once viewed as a hub of digital-music piracy, has paved the way for legitimate streaming services, building a stable of buyers and globally recognized companies. Spotify — the world’s largest contributor of digital revenue for the industry after iTunes — and SoundCloud, a popular music client and uploading tool, were founded in Stockholm.